Thursday, April 30, 2009

AQB1 - for Sarah Ch.

update - our blocks arranged differently.
our blocks gathered while decisions are made on how to connect.these are my blocks for Sarah at By Needle And Thread.i made the above block a month ago before i looked at the wonky tutorial. then i looked at the tutorial and was not absolutely sure that i was making what was asked for. after a month i still liked it. so i did not change it.i followed the tutorial to make this one.and here they are on Flickr.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Scrappy Sunday

if you wait for someone to come in the middle of the night and cut your thrifted clothing into pieces so that you can eventually make some kind of quilt you will probably be waiting a long time. i not only wished it once i wished it a million times.since i have no interest in spending valuable time on a new project but i do have an interest in making some kind of progress on transforming thrifted as well as personal clothing into a finished project i will again be using that one-block-at-a-time method.new inspiration came from this summer quilt made by Dawn's Great Grandmother. and who could forget the tumbler quilt made by Ulla. i like that these patterns can handle those scrappy bits that don't seem to go together.even from these small pieces i was able to cut quite a few squares and tumblers. i also saved strips just in case. but honestly i had to throw the rest away.

i don't miss any of the thrown away bits from my thrifted quilt.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Sweet Selvedges

using Nanette's waffle dish cloth tutorial i took selvedges to make the binding. i cut my selvedges at 2 in. used a 5/8 in. seam to sew on and tried both zig-zag and straight stitch to finish.three pieces to make Sweet binding. one long piece to make Santa Claus binding.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Sweet Pink

a pink bucket. sadly this Easter paraphanelia belonging to my niece was found empty. goodness gracious. when they were younger the candy lasted much longer. i coulda snuck a piece of candy for at least two weeks. so. well. watcha thinking. more colors. please don't show me any more colors. hmmm. if you missed Sweet Red you could go back and look.

my weekend list will require some abracadabra. turn my pieces into 30 blocks. lol. transform some pretty strips into these. and while i soak up some sun. whip up a few of these.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Sweet Orange

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Sweet Green

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Sweet Blue

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

He's Just Too Much

if i fall asleep before The Late Late Show comes on i just press Play in the a.m. when i have my morning coffee.
last night was especially silly and hilarious. my DVR keeps me connected. but you can check out the other clips of this show by clicking the ones marked 4/20/09.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Scrappy Sunday

i'm having scrapper's block. for the last few weeks i start to put a block together and i just don't like it. so tonight i did some playing. these are four scrap strips sewn to green squares.see last pic here. Kathy of Material Obsession calls it her Green Scrap Eater. but it has been worked up in other colors. love the "anything goes". love the "no matching points". love that it might just "eat up my scraps".

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Bunny Dresses

i hope my three bunny designers like the dresses i made for them. i'm popping them in their Easter goodie bag right now.here's my bunny Cindy with the dress i made for her. and she is giving you a sneak of a new quilt i am making. i feel a little guilty starting a new project when i have so many to finish. but it's from the Moda Sweet line. and who could resist a little of this sugar.i did after all need something new to sign up for six months of professional studio cutting at a LQS. here are my peeps getting cut into 1-1/2 in. strips. i'm learning how to prep my fabric before i get there. i'll keep you updated on how i like it as i do more cutting.have a most Happy Easter Day! i can see the sun shining outside my window and it looks beautiful. but i'm off now to make some cookies so i can complete my Easter goodie bags.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Easter Dresses

1953, Dutch Point, Hartford. this is my Mom when she was in high school. she is the oldest of 8 children.in the background is the Church of the Good Shepherd. in the next pic she's with my Aunt Sue and Aunt Dotty and little Aunt Karlene.1961. my Mom Carole, Tommy, Bobby, Sue, Dotty, Karlene and Carl. Carl just turned 4. so i was about 3-1/2. Pamela would arrive in a few years. you can see Joanne who is married to Bobby in the background.1962, in front of our home in Germany. i'm on the right. my sister Linda just turned 3 but she is clearly digging that outfit.1964, Hartford. over the fence you can see the new development that my grandparents later moved into. over to the right across Stonington Street is Colts Park. a bit of info on Colts.recycled dresses. August 1967, on a bridge across from Buckingham Palace. my Mom had these made for Easter out of the most beautiful yellow brocade fabric. they were sleeveless. that's my brother Lenny in the middle.those glasses look pretty cool now. but i never liked them. bifocals. enough said. back then no lie they took pieces of glass in different thicknesses and put them together. definitely not seamless like they are today. the military selection was skimpy & i always said no to the pink ones. in junior high i got to go offbase to pick out what i wanted. the style in the 1970's were very large or John Lennon style. i later wore contacts 18 hours a day up until just a few years ago. even now when they can make them lighter and thinner i've never had lenses that did not stick out of the frames.

Eileen has a call out for Easter outfit pics. if you want to see more dresses visit Eileen and click on her Mister Linky box. and if you post your own pics add you name and we'll visit to see yours.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Preparing For Ham Dinner

not sure if it will be ham. not asking. there's so much work involved in preparing for a family dinner. but it's not the kind of work i'm very good at. staying up late making cookies and trying to find something to wear usually leaves me wondering how everyone else does so much more.but i did make some bunny bundle kits for the girls. i used this pattern. visited Kinko's and enlarged printout 129%. some 4x6 flannel prints for the ears. some 11x12 fleece pieces for the body. i'll split up some craft stuffing and wrap it in "drum-roll-please" zippie bags. love the see-thru quality when giving small pieces. and the built-in-organizer when it goes home. the Mom's are busy on Good Friday. one working and the other finishing her taxes. so i am not sure when we will get to the clothes for the other bunnies. and one designer has changed her mind and would like to pick another fabric. so i might just throw the clothing pieces in the bag too.did i tell you that Jessica got a new sewing machine. she was brave enough to sew up the last bunny. oouch!since Jessica no longer has to wait for me my machine she has been busy. after making this heart quilt. she whipped up two more for gifts. another heart one in softer pinks for her Mom. and this great beach one for her friend. i wish i could take credit for that cute flip-flop. but we just talked about her idea until it looked just right.Eileen has a call out for Easter outfit pics. i was able to find a cute selection. but i'm off to scan them. so please come back. of course when you go looking for treasures you find them. on the left is me and my sister in matching outfits that my Mom made. it's probably not Easter but i love the cars in the background. and i found an old pic of me that i actually like. back then we wore dresses much more than we do now. and is there anyone who didn't use Joy to wash the dishes.just one more pic. when the girls were making their bunnies we took a break for that chocolate cake you make in the microwave. all of the recipes i found were pretty much the same. it was fun to watch it rise and then fall.we recommend a skinny mug and sharing and dumping onto a plate.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Silent Star

sashing added to top and right sides only.